A Student's Path: The Tale of Jugo & Anko
by laydee kai
Summary: Not much is known of the time when Anko was away with Orochimaru or the friendship that was fordged while she was there. COMPLETE.


**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Naruto.**_

_A note from laydee kai:_

_Hello!_

_While writing __A Son's Path: The Last Namikaze__ I wrote a chapter towards the end where Kakashi and Anko go up against Jugo. In the story there are some flash backs that tell the story, in my eyes, of how Anko first met Jugo. But while writing the flash backs, my mind went into a little bit of over drive and the flash back began to get away from me. It was a lot more information than I had wanted to add. So I figured that I would make it into a one shot for anyone who wanted to read it. So that is how this came to be._

_Age is but a number… and for some of the characters, I have not stuck to the same age that they are in the original story line. I hope that it doesn't cause you too much trouble, but I don't think that it is that big of a deal._

_And another thing… for all those who have read Harry Potter and are aware of Lord Voldermort's "Dark Mark"… I have tied a little of that concept into Orochimaru's curse seal. I am not really sure if it truly acts that way in the original story line or not, but for all purposes here… Orochimaru can think of a person that he "bestowed" the seal on and they can feel a twinge as if he is calling for them._

_I don't plan on this being longer than a oneshot, so there will be much that is not spoken of, such as time away. It for the most part will be of the time that Anko spends in the Northern Base where she meets Jugo. So when there is a break, the next part will be another visit. And it's not that the time skips are the only time she goes to see him, but they will be the important ones. Because other wise it could go on for a while._

_If you have read __A Son's Path: The Last Namikaze__, thank you! If not, then please read it! Lol. _

_I hope this is enjoyable to those who read it. – laydee kai_

* * *

_**A Student's Path: The Tale of Jugo & Anko  
**__**The Unlikeliest of Friends**_

In the dead of night, Anko Mitarashi followed her sensei quietly through the sleeping streets of Konoha. It wasn't long before that night when her sensei had told her of his plans to leave the Leaf and that as his apprentice, she was bound to him and _had_ to follow.

She turned back one more time to look at the village that had been her home since she was born. She looked up to the Hokage's monument and smiled sadly at the Sandaime's face. Right next to it, construction had recently begun on the addition of the Yondaime's likeness.

She, unlike her master, had no ill feelings towards the newest Hokage. However, she knew that Minato Namikaze's appointment had been the last crack in her master's loyal façade. So, she was forced out of her warm bed in the middle of the night in order to follow her master to only Kami knew where to begin a new life.

- - xXxXx - -

It had been six months since Anko followed Orochimaru away from Konoha. They had traveled a long distance away from her old village, to a place where Orochimaru received the _respect _and _fear_ that he felt he was entitled too.

The time had been incredibly difficult for Anko. Not only did she leave everyone that she knew behind, but her body had been wracked and ravaged by pain. Not long after their desertion of the Leaf, Orochimaru decided to let Anko in on one of his little experiments.

"_I can grant you immense power, my young Anko." He said slyly. "This _gift_ will help you in your training and will be your ace in the whole during battle."_

"_I will do anything you ask of me sensei." Anko replied._

"_Good my child, good. Now, follow me." Orochimaru commanded._

_He led her to a room that resembled a hospital room. Anko eyed all of the machines nervously. She looked to her sensei for comfort, but received none._

"_Why are we in this room sensei?" she questioned._

"_This room is where you will be staying until you gain control over your gift. You will be the first one that I willingly give this too."_

"_Thank You sensei, but I don't understand why I need to be _here_ to receive your gift."_

"_Be patient and you shall see why."_

_Orochimaru flew through a few hand signs. He looked at Anko's eyes widen in fear as she watched her own sensei turn on her. His neck elongated and slithered through the air to her direction. She screamed out as he latched on to her neck, sinking his snake like fangs into her pale skin._

_Just as quickly as it happened, it was over. Anko fell to the ground, seizing in pain._

"_Monitor her for the time being. It is yet to be seen if she is strong enough to accept my mark." He said out loud to no one in particular._

_Orochimaru walked out the room and left his young apprentice on the ground just barely conscious. Shortly after he left, several people who appeared to be doctors or nurses filled the room, attending to Anko._

_She came too a week later. She had conquered the curse seal._

In the time that she was with Orochimaru, Anko had learned much and trained hard. If Orochimaru would have been a being capable of human emotion, it is not far to venture in saying he could have been proud of his student. Being as he was not such a person, Anko's hard work went seemingly unnoticed and unappreciated.

There were times when she would lay in her room at night staring at the ceiling wondering what her friends were doing back in Konoha. Silently she would curse her actions and doubt herself for following. She now had no one who actually _cared_ for her. Anko desired someone who could fill that void. She needed a friend. It seemed as the days passed on, she began to question the man she called master and the actions that he was taking.

In her duties as Orochimaru's apprentice, Anko was allowed to travel with him in order to inspect his numerous bases. These trips out side of his hideout were something that she began to look forward to. It was a break from the constant training and a chance to see what lies beyond the walls. Living underground weighed heavily upon her at times.

The base in question this trip was Orochimaru's Northern Base. The trip was nothing exciting, but very refreshing for young Anko. The area that was chosen for this base was plain and easily overlooked by anyone who would have not known that it was there.

Anko quietly followed her master through the small cave opening that served as the entrance. They climbed down several flights of stairs until the reached bottom. Anko was amazed that even though they were so far underground, that it was rather bright down there. It was nothing like the dimly candle lit place that she called home. She shrugged it off and just figured that her master's minions needed to be able to see as they preformed their experiments.

The two finally reached a large wooden door. Orochimaru turned to his new apprentice.

"Anko, I have a meeting with the man who runs this base for me, I will return shortly. Feel free to look around… but do not touch anything. I wouldn't want anything to cause you harm." He said with an evil smirk.

"Hai sensei." She answered.

With that, Orochimaru turned and vanished behind the large doors.

"_This place is huge."_ Anko thought to herself as she began to wander down the halls.

The further she got into the base, the more interesting everything became. Down the first hall way, seemed to be the rooms where the actual experiments were conducted. There were countless doors. Seeing one open, she couldn't extinguish her ever growing curiosity.

The room she entered was a small observation room. It was ordinary by all means. There were two chairs that faced the one way mirrored glass window. When Anko turned to peek in the room, she was repulsed and lost her footing, causing her to fall to the ground. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. If she was going to be the apprentice of the great Orochimaru, she had to be able to view such atrocities. She stood, forcing herself to watch.

There was a young girl with purple hair that looked about 2 to 3 years of age, lying on a cold steel medical table. There men in white lab coats standing all around her. One the far side of the room, the wall was lined with what appeared to be large water tanks. There were three of them, one was empty, one contained two rather large fish and the last contained a young boy.

The boy appeared to be roughly the same age as the girl but he was in far worse shape than the girl. The boy was submerged in water with tubes and wires connected to him, monitoring his progress. At first Anko thought that it might be a room where these two children were receiving medical treatment, but she soon realized that she was wrong.

The closer Anko looked, the more horrified she became. The boy in the tank had gills and webbing between his fingers and toes. His body was covered in orange scales and he had what appeared to be a fin on his head. But more than that, he was struggling to breath. This boy was drowning in that tank.

Anko began to feel all of the strength in her legs draining out of them. She was about to lose her balance again. Quickly she reached for the wall so she could hold herself up. When reaching for the wall, she accidentally pushed the intercom button and heard the men speaking.

"The boy is a failure." One man said.

"What about the girl?"

"We haven't started anything on her yet. I think she may be too young for anything to actually take root."

"I see. Then place her back in her cell. We will wait for Subject Isaribi to age more before we continue on her. We don't want to lose such a valuable subject." Another man said. He appeared to be the man in charge of these experiments.

"Hai."

Anko looked at the men as they began to move around the room again. Even though she had her sensei's permission to wander, she still didn't want to be caught eavesdropping on anyone. She turned and ran out of the observation room.

As she made her way around a corner, she ran into another girl who seemed to be a few years younger than her. The said girl seemed to be angered that someone would dare run into her.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" the girl looked at her.

"I was just looking around." Anko replied. She was starting to not like this girl. Her voice made her stomach crawl.

"Just looking around? Well _I_ am a guard down here… who are _you_?" she yelled.

"A guard? You are younger than me!"

"That doesn't mean shit… Orochimaru-sama chose me for this job because of my abilities. You still haven't answered me you snot! Who are you?"

"I am Anko Mitarashi. Orochimaru-sensei's new apprentice." Anko said matter of factly.

"Oh. Forgive me than Anko-_san_." The young girl said sarcastically. "I am Karin, one of the containment area guards."

Anko looked over the small girl's head at the hall that lay before her. The hall was lined with barred cells. _"This must be where they keep the people who are being experimented on."_ Anko thought as she continued on around Karin, ignoring her.

"Where are you going?" Karin screeched.

"Did you not hear me before? I am _looking_ around." Anko said, eyeing Karin. "If you have a problem with it, then take it up with Sensei."

Karin looked as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself. She quickly turned on her heal and slinked off. Anko watched until she couldn't see her any more and then started on her way again.

As she passed most of the cells, she noticed the poor condition that some of the people were in. They just lay in their cells, not moving. The sight turned her stomach. But she continued on. The further back she got, the emptier the cells got and the darker the atmosphere.

Anko stopped at the end of the hall and looked to her right and then to her left. To her right, the hall ways full of cells continued, obviously circling around to the entrance, however, to her left was a dead end. She squinted to see down the hall, but the flickering lights made it hard to see anything clearly. Anko looked up and the sign on the wall, _Caution! Dangerous Subjects._

Anko just shrugged her shoulders and decided to walk to the end of the hall too see for herself. After all, with the condition of the hall, it seemed that no one was kept this far back. As she started, she wasn't scared, but the further back she went the knot in her stomach tightened.

"Who's there?" a hoarse voice boomed. Clearly this person had not used their voice for a while.

Anko jumped and froze in place. She looked around with wide eyes as she searched for where the voice came from.

"Hell-hello?" Anko asked meekly.

"Go away." The voice responded.

There was something in the voice that made Anko want to see who spoke. There was an underlying sadness. Anko stopped in front of the cell and turned to look into it. She silently gasped. There against the wall, sitting on the floor was a young boy, chained to the wall.

He lifted his head to look at the person who had ventured down the hall. For a moment, there was joy in his eyes. It had been a while since he had actually seen someone who seemed friendly. But just as quickly as it was there, it was gone.

"It is not safe for you to be around me. Please leave." He said.

"You don't look dangerous. Why are you chained up?" Anko asked. She looked at the chains and noticed that they were not ordinary chains. Seals had been placed on them to restrict the use of chakra.

"Because I can't control myself… I am a monster." The boy answered.

"But you don't look like a monster…" Anko said with a small smile.

The boy looked up at her in wonderment. It was odd for someone to look upon him without fear or hate. This person had not judged him for what he couldn't help. He liked that. He liked the girl. But he knew that it couldn't last for forever. He looked down at his feet and fell silent again.

Anko walked closer to the bars and squatted down so he would look at her again. He refused to look at her.

"What is your name?" she asked.

There was no answer, just the sound of chains and breathing.

"My name is Anko… would you please tell me your name?"

His eyes met hers for a moment. She smiled at him a genuine smile, something he couldn't even remember seeing for ages.

"Please?" she pushed.

"My name… is Jugo." He finally answered.

Anko opened her mouth to speak when a sharp pain erupted from her neck. She grabbed her neck and fell to her knees. The sudden action causes Jugo to jump and motion to comfort her. But he was stopped by the chains.

"Anko?" he asked.

"Sensei is calling for me… I am fine." She said standing, one hand still holding her neck. "It was very nice to meet you Jugo. I will come see you when we return."

With that, Anko turned and hurried down the hall. She didn't want to keep Orochimaru waiting. Jugo stared out the bars for a little while and then hung his head again.

"_She won't come back… after all I am a monster and no one ever comes to see _me_."_

- - xXxXx - -

(One Month Later)

Jugo had put all thoughts of ever seeing Anko out of his head. He knew that he would never see her again and with each passing day it just made him believe it all the more. He was spending another day, chained to the wall as per his wish. He was about to drift off into an uncomfortable sleep when he heard the sound of foot steps echoing off the walls.

Jugo didn't even lift his head. No one ever comes down his hall. The foot steps stopped and he sighed.

"Hello Jugo-san." Anko greeted.

Jugo's head snapped up, eyes wide. The look of shock and excitement etched on his face.

"An-Anko! I really didn't think that you would be back." He replied.

"Why not? I said that I would."

"I know that you said you would… but I didn't believe you."

Anko started to say something and the stopped. She was saddened by his answer. It seemed that he spent all of his time alone and that people didn't even check on him. She looked around his cell and noticed that there was a tray with food on it and water within his reach. So at least someone fed him, which was a relief to her, although a small one.

"You shouldn't have come back Anko-san."

"And why not?"

"I told you."

"Yeah yeah, you are a monster… I remember. But I don't think you are going to do me much of anything with those chains and these bars in between us. I think I am safe."

Jugo looked at her. He really didn't understand this girl. Not only was she talking to him, but she _wanted_ to talk to him.

"Why did you come back Anko-san?" he asked.

"Because I wanted too… you seem like you could use someone to talk too." She replied with small smile. "And I know I could."

"It has been too long since I last had someone to talk too… I don't know how to react."

"Well, other than your monster answer…why are you here?"

"I came here for help."

"Help? Here?" she asked, shocked.

"Hai…Orochimaru seemed to be the only person who could help me."

"With what?"

"I lose my control sometimes and turn into this raging _thing_. That is why I am back here alone… so I don't lose my self control." He paused, looking at her to see if she would be repulsed, but she wasn't. "When I get like that I hurt people… and I don't like to hurt people."

Anko walked to the back wall that connected into Jugo's cell and slid down it. She sat with her back to the wall and leaned against the bars.

"Where are you from?" she asked, continuing on her mental list of questions.

"I really don't know. I don't even know who my parents are… or were."

"I don't know who my parents were either. I mean… I have names and pictures… but I don't know them. They died when I was really little. They were both ninja. Orochimaru-sensei took an interest in me right out of the academy."

"So you are from Konoha?"

"Hai."

"Do you miss it?"

"Hai. Sometimes I really do… but Orochimaru is my sensei, I had to follow him."

"So you did… I am kind of happy that you did. It gave me someone to talk too." He smiled.

Anko looked at him and smirked. "Well, for someone who is always alone sure did find it easy to open up again."

"It helps when you have someone who cares."

"Oh I care?" Anko joked.

Anko looked up just in time to see the shackles around Jugo start to glow. Jugo grunted.

"Go!"

"No!" Anko yelled back.

"Go… _now_!" he yelled again.

"Jugo… open you eyes and look at me!"

He opened his eyes as he struggled with his inner demons. There was a lot of pain in his face. He locked eyes with Anko.

"Listen to me Jugo…" Anko said, gripping the bars. She spoke calmly and evenly. "You are _not_ a monster."

Jugo continued to look at her as she repeated those words to him over and over. Slowly, his breathing evened out and his chakra returned to normal. Sweat dripped off of his face as his body slouched. His head dropped as he took a deep breath.

Karin and two guards came running down the hall to where Jugo's cell was. Karin looked at Anko and then back at Jugo.

"What the hell do you think you are doing? He is isolated for a reason! He can't control…" Karin started to yell.

"Keep your voice down." Anko cut her off, never taking her eyes off of Jugo. "And he seemed to control himself fine just now."

"I don't care who you are! Get the hell away from him… I have my orders…" Karin argued.

Anko's head snapped in her direction. Her eyes narrowed at the young girl as she sent a massive wave of killer intent towards her and the other guards. The two guards broke out in a cold sweat.

When Anko spoke, she used a dangerous tone. "Karin… I said to keep your voice down."

"And I said to leave!" Karin shot back.

No one noticed as Orochimaru slithered into the area. He had felt the spike in Jugo's chakra, after all the shackles could only do so much, and then the rapid drop in it. It had made the snake like man curious. He had arrived in enough time to watch the exchange between Karin and Anko.

"Karin… it is best not to test your luck with young Anko here. She can be quite vicious when she wants to be." Orochimaru interjected.

Karin whipped around to find Orochimaru right behind her, standing calm as ever. He actually seemed to be amused and intrigued by what was taking place.

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama." Karin bowed and scurried off.

Anko looked up at her master as he looked in the cell at the panting boy. Orochimaru glanced at Anko and then turned to walk away. _"Interesting, there has never been a person who could get through to that boy."_ He stopped at the fork in the hall way.

"We will be leaving soon, Anko." He stated and then continued on.

"Hai Sensei." She said turning her attention back to Jugo. "Jugo? Are you okay?"

After a few minutes, he answered. "Hai. I am now…" he lifted his head. "No one has ever talked me down before. I don't know how you did that."

"Easy… it is because I care." She smiled at him and he returned it.

- - xXxXx - -

(One Month Later)

"Jugo!" Anko greeted happily.

"Anko! It is good to see you…" he smiled softly.

"I would ask how you have been, but I think I know."

"Not much changes." He said sadly. "How have you been?"

"I have been better. Sensei has been making me train even harder. But I am making progress. He even let me sign the Snake Summonsing Contract. Watch this!"

Anko nipped her finger and flew through the hand signs and placed her hand on the ground. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" she yelled. With a poof of smoke, a small green grass snake appeared.

Jugo looked on in amazement. "Wow, I didn't know you could do that."

"Sensei can summon snakes a lot bigger than me. He said that it will take time for me to be able to do it." She said as she released the small snake and it poofed away.

Anko settled down into her usual spot against the wall. Once settled, she let out a huge sigh.

"What's wrong Anko?" Jugo asked.

"I don't know…"

"Anko, it would save a lot of time if you would just tell me… I am here to listen." Jugo replied, the last part more softly than the rest.

"I really wish I knew. There is just this guy feeling that I have. Sensei has been getting even more detached from me than before. And it is starting to make me uneasy."

"How so?"

"His ambitions seem to be growing darker. And from what I gather, his experiments are more gruesome. I mean I thought the curse seal was bad enough…"

"Curse seal?" Jugo cut off.

"Hai." Anko pulled her shirt collar back to reveal a black marking on her neck. "It's something that when activated enhances the users power. It's pretty remarkable. I don't know how he learned it. It's something he doesn't talk about with me. All he ever talks about is spreading his mark to those who he deems worthy." Anko said while fixing her shirt.

Jugo's mind raced a little. He thought back to when he first came to the Northern Base.

"_We will just draw some blood from you Jugo. I wish to study it to better understand it so I can…_help_ you better." Orochimaru said with a wicked smile._

"Wh-what does it do when you activate it?" Jugo asked.

"Um… well the mark spreads over my body and I get more power. I become stronger and faster, but that is just the first stage."

"Stage?"

"Hai, I have only activated the second stage a few times but my skin changes color and the power boost is incredible."

Jugo hung his head. Anko looked over at her chained friend and became worried.

"What's the matter?"

"Your curse seal… is my fault."

"Fault? What are you talking about?"

"Anko, that is what happens to me when I lose control." He said sadly.

"Sensei gave you his mark?"

"No! He got his damn mark from me!" Anger slowly rising in his stomach. "I came here to control this… not give it to others."

"Jugo…" Anko began. She wanted to comfort him and let him know that she was alright.

"I came here for help… and he used me." He lifted his head and looked at Anko. She saw the tears forming in his eyes. "And then he passed it to the one person who didn't hate me. The one person that I care about."

"Didn't? I still don't. Jugo… I am okay. What are you worried about?"

"That you won't be able to control it…" he said quietly.

"I can."

"How?"

"I don't know. I always have been able to… since I got it."

"Then he fixed it…" he said with hope in his eyes. "Then he could fix me! I could get out of here and not live my life like _this._"

"Of course he could!" she said brightly. Then she became sad. "If you were better would you leave?"

Jugo was caught off guard by that question. "If you are asking if I would leave you, then the answer is no."

"Really?"

"Hai. You are my friend… and I don't want that to change." He smiled.

- - xXxXx - -

(One Month Later)

"Hey Jugo…" Anko greeted, taking her normal spot. "Guess what?"

"What?" he answered looking up at her.

"Sensei will be using this base for a while… so we will be staying here for more than a day!"

"Really?"

"Hai."

Jugo looked at his friend. There was something in her eyes, something that caused her to be sad.

"Anko… why do you look so sad. You being here longer is great news…"

"It's not that… I am happy to be here longer. I talked to sensei… about you."

"And?" he already knew the answer.

"I don't think that he will ever cure you…" she replied quietly.

"I didn't think so."

"But he should!" Anko protested. "You deserve it…"

"It's okay Anko." He said looking down. "Deep down I knew that I would never be more than a monster."

Anko looked at her friend lost in his own sadness. She wished that she could touch him. She may have not remembered her parents very well, but she remembered what when she was sad, they would hug her and that always made her feel better.

He heard Anko stand up and walk away. He didn't want her to leave but he couldn't find the energy to tell her so. Her departure made him sink lower into his own world.

He was so consumed that he never heard her come back or the keys opening the door. What finally snapped him out of his stupor was when he felt two delicate arms embrace him. His eyes snapped opened and focused on Anko. She had opened the cell to _hug_ him.

He responded by placing his head on her's. It was in that moment that he knew that Anko wasn't a monster like her master. He knew that if she had it her way, he would be free. And he was thankful for her.

The little bit of light that was in the room gleamed off of a necklace that Jugo had around his neck. Anko looked up at it and fingered the charm.

"I never noticed this before… it's beautiful."

"Take it."

"I couldn't"

"Please? I don't even know how I got it anymore. But knowing that you have it would make my happy. That way I will always be with you…" he said. "Please take it."

She gently removed the necklace from his neck and placed it around hers. "Thank you. I will cherish it." She smiled and hugged him again before she left his cell.

"Good night Jugo-kun, I will see you tomorrow."

"Good night Anko-chan… until tomorrow." He smiled back.

- - xXxXx - -

(The Next Day)

Anko came back in the morning. She had a pained and scared look on her face. She was pale and sweating.

"Jugo-kun…"

"Anko-chan? What is the matter?" he asked.

She gripped the bars and looked into his eyes. She had tears coming down her eyes now.

"Would you come with me? If I left… would you come with me?" Anko pleaded.

"You know it's not safe for me to leave… Anko-chan, why do you want to leave?"

"Sensei… he had been scarring me lately… and I have thoughts… but never thought that they were true. I always thought that we left because he just wanted to be Hokage… and then when we came here… I saw what he really is. The things that he does to people.

"And then last night… I over heard him while he was in one of his meetings. The things that they were planning… taking over _all_ the Hidden Villages and collecting this _super power_… I don't want a part of it, Jugo-kun. I am scared. I think I made a mistake becoming his student."

"Anko-chan… who were these people that he met with? There is no way that other's would go along with it… I mean what he is talking about is massive…"

"I don't know… they had black cloaks on with red clouds… I recognized one of them… he was an Uchiha… I saw the red eyes of the Sharingan. I think they called themselves the… Akatsuki."

"The Akatsuki? I have never heard of them…"

"Jugo-kun would you come with me?" Anko asked again.

"I can't leave… too many people would be put in danger."

"But with me I can help you control it… we have done it before. I need you Jugo-kun… I can't leave you here with all of this… I wouldn't forgive myself if anything happened to you. You _have_ to come with me."

"Okay… Anko-chan, I will go with you."

"Thank You Jugo-kun, I will come back tonight… we will leave tonight and head for Konoha."

"Okay…" he said. "I will wait for you."

- - xXxXx - -

(Later That Day)

Anko headed straight to her room after training. She wanted to get her things packed and then hurry to Jugo. She knew that her sensei had another meeting with the people in black cloaks and wanted to be well on her way back to the Leaf by the time they were done. She figured that during the meeting would be the best time to leave undetected.

Anko was in the process of grabbing the necessities from her small room when the door opened, revealing a less than pleased Orochimaru.

"Well, well… my dear Anko. Are you going somewhere?"

"N-no Sensei… why would I being going…anywhere?" she answered.

"That is something that I would like you to tell me."

"I don't understand Sensei."

Orochimaru eyed the young girl as he closed the gap between them. She scanned the room, looking franticly.

"I think you _understand_ perfectly. You are behaving like a rat that has been cornered by a snake… looking for anyway out."

"No, no I am not."

"Do not lie to me!" he yelled. "Do you think I do not know what is going on in my own damn base? You think just because you flash around that you are my apprentice means that my subjects are loyal to _you_?"

"I-I… I never thought that." Anko managed to spit out.

"Hai… you did. I have watched you since day one. And even more so when I noticed the _bond_ between you and Jugo. _'Will you leave with me?'_ Did you not ask him that today? Is that not the reason for your packing?"

Anko watched her sensei in fear. He was getting much to close for her comfort. She was hoping that her plan would work the way she had thought. Clearly, it was not.

"You see… I can not just let you _leave_. You know far too much about me, about what I have been doing and about what I want to do."

"What are you going to do to me then?"

"Normally, I would just kill you."

"What?" she asked breathlessly.

"But, this is not a normal situation that I find myself in. You my dear, could still be _useful_ to me. However, I do not trust you any longer. You will _have_ to leave now. But it will not be in the fashion that you had planned. You will not take _anything _from here. Not your things, not Jugo… and not your memories."

"My m-memories? But you can't take that sensei…"

"I can… and I will."

Orochimaru extended his pale hand outward toward Anko and latched on to her shoulder, the same spot where the curse mark was located.

"You will not remember any of your time here… and Jugo will think you left him. And that boy will hate you. Think of it as my parting gift to you… your friend will _hate_ you."

"No… please!" Anko screamed. "Leave him alone… No!"

Orochimaru gathered chakra in his hand and channeled into the curse mark on her shoulder. He kept his iron grip on her as she fell to her knees screaming out in agony. He didn't let go until he knew that her mind was broken.

When he released her, she fell to the ground limp. As he turned to leave, one of his loyal ninja came into the room. He walked up to Anko's body and nudged it with his foot.

"Is she dead Orochimaru-sama?"

"No… but take her away from here… dump her body at the edge of the Leaf borders. Let's give Yondaime a little gift." He said with a smirk. "Alert those waiting on me that I will be there shortly. I have one more person to attend to before I meet them."

Orochimaru made his way down to where Jugo was caged. He walked up to the cell and peered in.

"Anko-chan?" Jugo said looking up.

"No. Sorry… I _hate_ to be the bearer of bad news; however, your little friend is missing."

"What? She's gone?"

"Hai. She left… you wouldn't happen to know where she went? _I am worried about my student_. And I thought you were friends."

"She was going to come back for me…"

"Well, it looks like she left you. It's for the best too… I mean you _are_ a monster are you not? That is why you came to me."

Jugo just glared at Orochimaru as he began to snicker. Orochimaru turned and walked away, his laughter echoing down the halls. Jugo hung his head and began to silently weep.

"_I am a monster… that must have been why she left."_

- - xXxXx - -

(Just Outside of the Borders of the Leaf)

The rain began to poor on the ninja and his package. He had hoped to make it before the rain started but as always, he seemed to be unlucky. He slowed his pace and looked around. He was trying to avoid any ANBU if he could. He may have been the fastest, but he wasn't the strongest and he really didn't want a fight.

He managed to slip into the borders undetected and dropped the body just like he was told. He had made it just in time because she started to regain consciousness. He sped off to leave her alone in the rain.

- - xXxXx - -

Anko slowly opened her eyes. She didn't know where she was or why she was wet. She looked around, suddenly very frightened. She could hear things. She reached around for her kunai pouch only to find that it wasn't there. She cursed under her breath.

She hugged herself and drew her legs up under her. She was wet and cold and had no idea where she was. She started to cry. She couldn't remember anything. The more she tried to think of it, the more her head began to throb.

Snap.

Anko's head shot up. She was surrounded. Around her stood four ANBU, Dog, Cat, Boar and Sparrow. The Dog stepped forward.

"Anko Mitarashi." Dog spoke.

"Who?" Anko questioned.

"Are you Anko Mitarashi?"

"I… I don't know."

The Dog turned to look at his comrades. He turned back to look at Anko's face.

"Anko Mitarashi, you are hereby under arrest for defecting and allying yourself with Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru…" she repeated.

Dog nodded to the Cat and she stepped forward to the other side of Anko. Both taking a side, Dog and Cat lifted Anko by the arms and hoisted her to her feet. Just then, lightening struck and reflected off of the necklace around Anko's neck. Anko looked down and started to cry.

"Did someone give you that?" the Cat questioned.

"Hai… but I can't remember who… I just have a feeling that they are as sad as I am."

The Dog looked at the remaining two ANBU. "You two head back and inform Yondaime that we have captured Orochimaru's apprentice."

The Sparrow and Boar took off. The Dog hoisted Anko over his shoulder and took off through the trees with the Cat behind him. It would take them a little longer to get back because of the rain and the extra weight.

"Ibiki Morino will be thrilled." The Cat said.

"I kind of feel bad for the girl then…" replied the Dog.

**- END -**


End file.
